Real Madrid News
Real Madrid left stranded as Barcelona announce Super League exit
The final nail in the coffin in the European Super League may have arrived today as Barcelona announced their exit from the project today, leaving Real Madrid standing as the last member.
“FC Barcelona hereby announces that today it has formally notified the European Super League Company and the clubs involved of its withdrawal from the European Super League project,” the statement from Barça read.
The announcement does not come as a surprise, considering that the relationship between Real Madrid and Barcelona, the last two standing members of the project, had become greatly strained in recent months.
Real Madrid have upped the ante in their battle against the Negreira case, which has not gone down too well at Barcelona.
COMUNICADO DEL FC BARCELONAhttps://t.co/KjFR71FhOj pic.twitter.com/xS4n3keJBn
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es) February 7, 2026
In response, the Catalans strengthened their ties with UEFA and the ECA, which had become strained due to their involvement in the Super League project.
Now, the La Liga leaders have completely turned their backs on Real Madrid and walked away from the breakaway league.
It will be interesting to see how Real Madrid respond to this latest development and whether this does spell the end of the Super League project for good.
Real Madrid News
Mourinho reacts to Vinicius suspension: “Why announce it two hours before an important match?”
Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho has questioned the RFEF Disciplinary Committee’s decision to announce Vinicius Jr.’s four-match suspension just hours before their UEFA Champions League meeting with AS Roma on Wednesday.
The Brazilian has been hit with a four-match ban for his red card against Villarreal, meaning he will miss the matches against Sevilla, Barcelona, Racing Santander, and Valencia.
And, speaking to Movistar+ (h/t MARCA) before the match, the Real Madrid manager was asked whether the punishment could affect the Brazilian psychologically.
Mourinho instead turned his attention to the football authorities and the timing of their announcement.
“I think that is a question for the Committee. Why have they announced the suspension at this particular moment? If you are asking me this question, it is presumably because you think it could affect him,” the Portuguese coach replied.
“You should ask the Committee why they did not announce it this morning, or tomorrow morning. Why do they do it two hours before a match that is important for Real Madrid, which is a Spanish club?” he added, questioning the timing of the decision.
Mourinho explains his tactical approach against Roma
The Real Madrid manager also outlined his plan for facing a Roma side known for their aggressive pressing.
“My intention is to stop them from pressing us so high up the pitch, given the players we have available and as a precaution,” he said.
Continuing, the Portuguese manager added: “They press man-to-man higher up the pitch better than anyone else, and we will see whether we can take advantage of that. If not, they will have to drop their press five or ten metres.”
Why Rudiger over Huijsen
Mourinho also justified his decision to start Antonio Rudiger at centre-back alongside Ibrahima Konate rather than Dean Huijsen.
“They played very well together in the last match, Rudiger and Konate, showing great leadership and the ability to withstand a difficult situation when we had ten men for 30 minutes,” he said.
“I am not saying Dean is not capable of playing a match like this, but this is a wonderful atmosphere for Roma and a difficult one for us. I think a player with Antonio’s experience can be important,” Mourinho added.
Finally, Mourinho was asked about his emotions ahead of returning to face Roma, the club he managed between 2021 and 2024.
The Portuguese coach offered a brief response, saying that he had his feelings about the occasion “blocked”.
